Corythosaurus
Corythosaurus was an advanced hadrosaur which lived in what is now North America, about 77-76.5 million years ago.Arbour, et al. (2009). Corythosaurus was an ornithician (bird-hipped) dinosaur, and had a tall crest shaped like a semicircle, which may have flushed red during the mating season, much like some pterosaur crests. Corythosaurus had the typical hadrosarian features, such as the ever-present 'duck billed' snout and biped stance. Corythosaurus is thought to have been a social animal, and it was most likely to have conveged in large herds. Description It was about 30–33 feet long from nose to tail, weighed in at 4 tonnes, and had a circular crest on its head formed from long nasal passages,"Corythosaurus," Dodson, et al. (1994); page 137. in the shape of a helmet flattened on the sides (Corythosaurus means "helmet lizard"). Males had larger crests than females and juveniles. Like all hadrosaurs it could switch between two legs and four. The beak of Corythosaurus had no teeth, but the back of the jaws had hundreds. These were used to crush and grind plants and when teeth were lost, it grew new ones. More than 20 skulls have been found from this dinosaur. As with all lambeosaurs, it bore a tall, bony crest on top of its skull, which had the long nasal passages. Classification Corythosaurus is classified as a hadrosaurid, in the subfamily Lambeosaurinae. It is related to other hadrosaurs such as Hypacrosaurus, Lambeosaurus and Olorotitan, aside from Olorotitan, they all share similar looking skulls and crests. But, recent research has shown that Olorotitan is Corythosaurus closest known relative even though it lacks most of the skull traits of most lambeosaurs.Godefroit, et al. (2003). History The first specimen was discovered in 1912 by Barnum Brown in Red Deer River, Alberta.Dinosaurs in the Deep Fossils have been found in the upper Oldman Formation and lower Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada. Paleobiology Its nasal passages extended to the crest, first to separate pockets in the sides, then into a central chamber in the respiratory system. Any vocalization would go through these chambers, and probably get louder. Scientists think that Corythosaurus could make loud, low pitched cries "Like a wind or brass instrument." The sounds could serve to alert other Corythosaurus if they found food or saw a predator. It was once thought that this dinosaur lived most of its time in the water, due to the webbed hands and feet. However, it was later found that the so-called "webs" were in fact deflated padding, much like that found on many modern mammals. The bony rings in Corythosaurus's eyes were compared to those of modern birds and reptiles, which shows that it may have been active through the day at short times.Schmitz and Motani (2011) Popular Culture *A herd of Corythosaurs and Parasaurolophus is featured in the film Jurassic Park III. Corythosaurus then went on to feature in the Vivendi Universal game Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis. *''Corythosaurus'' is one of the dinosaurs in the Rite of Spring segment of Disney's Fantasia. was on the Left, and Corythosaurus is on the Right, in Fantasia]] *''Corythosaurus'' also made appearances in the sequels of The Land Before Time. References External links *Dinosaurs in the Deep Category:Herbivores Category:Hadrosaurs Category:Jurassic Park III dinosaurs Category:Dinosaurs Category:Dinosaurs of North America